Carol and David talk about two different kinds of thank you gifts: one that is unique and picked out especially for the donor, and one that is just like what every other donor receives. There are circumstances that are compelling reasons for giving one or the other.

Carol and David talk about how to get your board to make thank-you calls to donor. Penelope Burk’s book Donor-Centered Fundraising is a good source. Carol goes through a sample script so you can get the idea, too.

Is $4 Million dollars a lot of money for your board? Well, it certainly is a lot of money to pay for a dress, a pair of earrings, a pair of golf clubs. Is it a lot to pay for a condo? A 12 family apartment building? A payroll for 80 employees?

I asked this question during a retreat, “What would it take to deal with this problem for the entire city.” Someone came up with the figure $4 million.” To most of the people in the room, it could have been $4 billion. Only one person said, “Is that all?”

Every board needs someone who is used to dealing with big numbers and has a comfort level with them. The member doesn’t have to have the money, but a familiarity and comfort with thinking big and expanding the horizons of the group. (Although if someone would be able to write the $4 million check, it would have been interesting to see what the reaction would have been!)

I did a retreat for a group where more than 51% of the group were on disability. The CEO’s salary was so low, it wasn’t even on the chart on the Association of Fundraising Professionals Salary index. No one in the room, including the CEO, had a clue. If something happened to her, she could not be replaced for anywhere near this salary. No one was financially literate about salaries. Good, caring people. But NO ONE knew how underpaid the CEO was.

If you can’t talk about the big numbers, you can’t ask for them. Every nonprofit does not have to be large, but if there are people you want to serve and aren’t, get someone in the room who doesn’t think $4 Million is big bucks!

Compare and contrast, as we used to hear in high school English class. Last Saturday night, I was at an auction for Rebuilding Together, a fabulous client of mine that rehabs houses for the poor and elderly. The board chair not only graciously thanked the volunteers, but the development director got flowers.

Another client, just a few months before, had a huge convention. They were in deep financial crisis. They had to sell their building to avoid bankruptcy. An interim executive director came in and made very hard decisions which bills to pay to keep the doors open. There wasn’t enough dough to take a salary, so she didn’t. She wasn’t even acknowledged from the podium, much less presented a posey.

I have a meeting regarding the strategic plan for Rebuilding Together this morning. I can’t wait to go. I have recruited one of my sons to get involved. I had lunch with a friend on Monday and suggested her husband join the board.

I believe strongly in the mission of the other organization. There would have to be a big time culture change before I would refer a friend into that snake pit. They chew up staff a combine goes through hay.

The difference between the two: the simple act of acknowledging good work. And all it takes is $10 worth of flowers.

About us

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Carol Weisman is president of Board Builders. She is an internationally known speaker, author, trainer and consultant who specializes in volunteerism, fund raising and governance. She has worked with a wide range of clients and has served on 28 boards and has been president of 7. She is author of “Raising Charitable Children” and working on another book about fundraising.

David Strom has spoken around the world at numerous conferences from Sydney to Caracas to Tokyo and back. He is a frequent contributor to the New York Times, has appeared on numerous TV and radio shows such as ABC World News Tonight and NPR’s Science Friday talking about technology. He has started dozens of magazines — including being editor-in-chief at Tom’s Hardware and Network Computing, and now an editor at Baseline Magazine — and contributed to many technology Web sites.